Far Away
by Rowan Rose
Summary: AU. The small girl stared down at the ground and furrowed her brow. "I-I don't know" She answered truthfully. The Fire Lord smirked. "She is of no harm. Give her to princess Azula." Katara looked up at the shadow behind the wall of flames. Where was she? Why couldn't she remember anything?
1. Taken

I do not own any part of the characters of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I got the story idea from Another brother by AvacadoLove.

Far Away

Chapter One: Taken

The war had ravaged the nations for nearly a hundred years. The Fire Nation attacked everyone, destroyed everything, and killed everyone. No one saw it coming, the nations lived together in peace, but when the Fire Nation decided to end that peace, everyone was affected. Even the small Southern Water Tribe had felt the hardship of war placed on their shoulders.

Their people were killed and their benders were taken. There was only one bender in the entire Southern Water Tribe left. The chief did all he could to protect that one last bender, not for the sake of war, but because that one last waterbender was his daughter, Katara.

The five-year-old was too young to remember even seeing a bender bend, but she learned on her own. She could even use what little bending she knew to gain an advantage while playing in the snow with her brother.

She used her bending to throw snow at her six-year-old brother, Sokka, as they fought in the snow. They laughed and they played as only children could do. Neither of them even thought about the war or the Fire Nation. All they cared about was dumping snow on their sibling.

That is, until they saw it. All of their lives they had been warned about black snow. That if they saw it, they were to hide and not come out until they knew it to be safe, but when they actually saw it, reality came crashing down on them.

They turned to each other with frightened gazes before Katara spoke. "I'm going to go find mom."

Sokka nodded and she turned and ran. Her mother had been sick for the past few mornings and had gone to see her grandmother.

'Grangran could always make it feel better.' Kya, Katara's mother, had told Katara after Katara had gotten sick.

Katara raced for her grandmother's tent and threw open the flap before rushing inside, panting and gasping for breath. She looked up and was disappointed at only finding her grandmother in the tent and turned to leave before she felt a warm hand grab her arm.

"Why are you in such a hurry, Katara?" The old woman asked with a smile.

Katara answered quickly. "Black snow. I need to find mom."

Katara's grandmother gasped. "Why don't you stay here." she said as her hand tightened around Katara's arm. "Your mother will be fine."

"No!" Katara shouted as she wrenched her arm from her grandmother's grasp. She ran back out into the snow before the woman could grab her arm again.

She raced toward her family tent with a renewed vigor. She had something telling her, urging her to find her mother. As she ran, she saw flashes of blue and red. Fire Nation soldiers and Water Tribe warriors.

She saw as her brother threw a ball of snow at the helmet of a Fire Nation soldier from his hiding place. She felt an urge to join him, but she knew she had to make sure her mother was alright before she could.

As she reached the tent she drew back the flap and was shocked when two heads turned in her direction. One was the frightened gaze of her mother mouthing at her to run. The other was the hard glare of a tall frightening Fire Nation soldier.

The soldier sneered at her. "Run along little girl, this doesn't concern you."

He mother nodded vigorously. "Go find your father, Katara."

Katara found herself nodding and turned to leave until she heard the next thing the soldier said. "Now I'll only ask you one more time, who is the last waterbender."

Katara's eyes widened and she held her breath in anticipation of her mother's answer.

Kya sighed. "Fine. I'll tell you." Katara bit back a gasp of surprise that her mother would sell her off until she heard the next sentence.

"I am the last waterbender." Kya said, absentmindedly rubbing her stomach. "Take me as your prisoner."

The Fire Nation soldier laughed darkly. "I'm afraid we won't be taking any prisoners today." He raised his fist as if to strike Kya and Katara watched in an amazed horror as the soldier's fist was engulfed in flames. He pulled his fist back to strike, before a small pile of snow was bent onto his hand with a loud sizzle.

He stared at Kya with wide, frightened eyes. "How did you do that without moving?"

Kya wasn't looking at the soldier, though; she was staring in horror at her small daughter who realized suddenly what she had just done.

The soldier looked in the direction Kya was staring and saw Katara. "You little liar!" he shouted as he turned back too Kya. Before Katara could react, the soldier lashed out a line of fire that hit Kya like a slap across the face. She fell to the floor cradling her face as blood seeped through her fingers.

The soldier then turned back to Katara. He had a displeased look on his face as he sneered down at her. "It would be dishonorable to kill a child so young." He said. "I'll take you to the Fire Lord and he will decide what to do with you."

Katara, who had dropped down to the floor to help her mother, was snatched up by the hood of her parka, and slung over the soldier's shoulder. "Come nice and calm please little girl. I don't want any trouble.

Katara let out a terrified scream as the soldier carried her out of the tent and into the open air. She kicked her feet and punched at the soldier's back but only heard a slow chuckle from the let out another scream and heard familiar shouts coming from around her.

"Katara!" she heard her father yell and she looked up to see him running towards her and the soldier. "Hold on! I'll be there in a second!" She watched as he tried to make his way through the sea of red to no avail. She gave one last scream before she lost sight of him.

She heard the solder grunt and felt him stagger under her suddenly. She looked down to see her brother attacking the soldier's knees with his boomerang and his small fist. "Let go of my sister!" Sokka shouted.

The soldier gave a small kick at Sokka that sent him tumbling to the snow. "Nice try little boy. Maybe when you're older." The soldier continued his trek to the ship that had crashed through the ice surrounding their village.

"Men," The soldier carrying her bellowed. "Back to the ship!" He mounted the ramp that led up the ship before they disappeared into the dark tunnel. Katara heard heavy footsteps behind her and watched as the benders lit balls of flame in the palm of their hands. She heard and felt the loud clang of the hatch closing and heard the muffled cries from the familiar voices coming from outside the ship.

Katara started struggling anew and managed to wriggle out of the soldier's grasp long enough to drop to the floor and rush back down the path. It wasn't long before she was caught by one of the soldiers following closely behind. Katara let out a screamed, "Daddy!" Before a hand was clamped over her mouth.

"I'm afraid shouting is useless at this point, little girl." The soldier who had taken her said. "It would be to your benefit if you would cooperate."

Katara felt her lip tremble as the reality of what was happening set in. She was going to die. She would never see Sokka, or her Mother and Father, or her home again. She felt the warm tears slip down her face and land on the soldier's hand that was still clamped firmly on her mouth.

"Uhgh" He pulled his hand back in disgust. "You there," he said pointing to a young soldier directly behind Katara. "Take her down to the store room and see that she is watered and fed. I don't want to hear so much as a whimper out of her this whole trip. Do you understand?"

The young soldier saluted. "Yes sir." He grabbed a hold of Katara's arm and started to lead her along, but she stayed firmly planted, silently sobbing into her hands. The soldier hoisted her up into his arms and started down the hall. When they were out of earshot of the other soldiers, Katara heard the soldier whisper into her ear. "It'll be okay. I won't hurt you."

Katara lifted her head from where it had been on the soldier's shoulder and sniffled. "I want my mommy." She said before burying her head back into his shoulder.

"Shhh. It'll be okay." He said as he stroked her hair. "My name is Sakari, what is yours?"

"K-katara." She said in between sniffles.

"How old are you Katara?" Sakari asked.

Katara looked up again. "I'm five." She bit her lip. "How old are you Sak-Sakir-Sari-"

The soldier smiled. "Just call me Saka." He said, "I'm seventeen. I'll be eighteen soon."

Katara frowned. "I can't call you Saka."

Sakari cocked his head at Katara and smirked. "And why can't you call me Saka? It's easy to say."

Katara shook her head. "No, I can say it, but Sokka was my brother and so I can't call you my brother's name." Katara started to tear up again. "I guess I could call you Saka, since I won't see my brother again.

Sakari's smirk instantly dropped as he felt Katara burrow her head into his shoulder again. "You know Katara, I have a sister that is the same age as you." He said. "She had only just turned five when I became a soldier. You would have liked her." He sighed. "She is a bender just like you."

Katara furrowed her brow. "She's a water bender?"

Sakari smiled. "No, she's a fire bender. She is only just learning how to fire bend, but she'll be a great master one day."

Sakari stopped talking as he stopped walking. He set Katara on the ground as he opened a heavy metal door. "This is where you'll be staying." He said. "I'll bring you something to sleep on as soon as I can, but right now I have to get back to work."

He ushered Katara through the doorway before the large door slammed shut.

Katara listened as his muffled footsteps grew quieter and quieter, until they disappeared completely.

As soon as she couldn't hear his footsteps anymore, she sat down on the floor and curled up before laying her head on her knees and sobbing.

**(¯`'•.¸* ~Southern Water Tribe~ *¸. •'´¯)**

Hakoda dropped to his knees as he watched the metal Fire Nation ship get smaller and smaller off the horizon. He knew any attempt to rescue her would be in vain, no canoe could outrun a warship, and he didn't want to lose anyone else in a futile rescue attempt.

He felt a hand drop onto his shoulder and he looked up into the face of Bato. "It'll be okay, Hakoda. She will be okay." Hakoda wasn't convinced. Who knew what those Fire Nation dogs were doing to his daughter. He would get them one day.

"Dad?" he heard a small voice at his side and turned to see a teary-eyed Sokka at his side. "We're going after them right?"

Hakoda sighed. "Sokka it's not that easy . We can't risk more men on a useless rescue attempt."

"No!" shouted Sokka. "It's my fault she was taken. I should have just stayed with her, instead of letting her go alone to find mom."

Hakoda shook his head. "Sokka, if anyone is to blame, it-" The color drained from his face. "Kya." He breathed before running for his tent.

When he got there, he threw open the entrance and instantly smelt the stench of burned flesh. He stared in horror at the still form of his wife on the ground, but he breathed a sigh of relief as she moaned and twitched her hand.

He dropped down to her side and pulled her head into his lap. He lightly touched the burn that trailed from her jaw, to her temple, before she stirred. "Hak-Hakoda, did you stop them? You s-saved her right?" she asked.

Hakoda bowed his head in shame. "They took her. I tried to stop them, but there were too many. I should have been able to stop them, but I just couldn't. "

"No." Kya said. "No. They can't have taken her. Today was supposed to be a happy day. I had good news and this wasn't supposed to happen." She felt her tears start to sting her burn, but she wasn't worried about that right now. "It was supposed to be a happy day."

Hakoda furrowed his brow. "You keep saying that today was supposed to be happy." He started. "What good news did you have?"

She looked up into his eyes. "You know how I've been getting sick the last couple mornings?" Hakoda nodded and she continued. "I went to see Kanna this morning and...I'm pregnant. I'm going to have another baby."

Hakoda paused for a second before opening his mouth to speak, before he was cut off.

"You're having another baby to replace Katara?" Sokka asked as stood in the entrance to the tent. "You're horrible. I hate you both!" Sokka yelled before running off.

Hakoda moved to get up and chase after Sokka, but stopped when he heard Bato's voice outside consoling Sokka.

Hakoda looked down at Kya's charred face before picking her up into his arms. "Let's take you to Kanna." He said as he exited the tent.

Kya looked up at Hakoda one last time before breathing out. "I just hope it's not another bender."


	2. Talk of Home

I do not own any part of the characters of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I got the story idea from Another brother by AvacadoLove.

Far Away

**Chapter 2: Talk of Home**

Katara had stopped crying by the time Sakari came back in, carrying a tray of food and a small blanket. The door creaked open and he silently slipped in as she uncurled from her position on the floor. He set the food down on one of the many boxes in the room, and Katara looked around at her surroundings for the first time.

"Where am I?" She inquired. She stood up and walked up to where he had placed her food.

Sakari looked down into her upturned face. "This is the store room. It's where we keep all our extra food and weapons, and now you." He sat on the floor cross-legged and Katara followed suit.

They sat in silence for a few minutes while Katara ate before she looked up at him with wide eyes. "How come you're so nice?"

Sakari cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean by that? Why wouldn't I be nice?"

Katara's brows furrowed. "Everybody knows that the Fire Nation is bad." She pursed her lips. "All they do is hurt people and burn stuff."

Sakari shook his head quickly. "Not all of us are bad." He said. "We used to as nice as every other nation, but we had bad leaders. They made us join this war." He hung his head.

Katara quickly put another bite into her mouth. "My daddy's the leader of our village and he would never make us hurt other Nations." She said around the food. She looked up to find wide golden eyes staring at her, the only thing she could see of him through his helmet.

"You're father was the chief?" She nodded before he continued. `"That makes you sort of like a princess. Would you have been chief next?"

Katara giggled. "No silly. Girls can't be chiefs. Besides, I'm not even the oldest." She crossed her arms over her chest. "My brother will be the next chief. If I tell him what you said, he would laugh at me." Instantly she stiffened. He eyes didn't fill with tears this time though. She just sat in the floor with the saddest expression on her face.

Sakari frowned. He didn't like it when people where sad or hurting. He never did. "Would you like for me to tell you about my home, Katara?" he asked.

Katara looked up to meet his eyes. "S-sure."

He took off his helmet and Katara was surprised. She had never seen a Fire Nation without their helmets on. She was surprised at the stark contrasts between Fire Nation and Water Tribe.

The first thing she noticed was his eyes. Before she could only see the color of them, gleaming in the light, but now she could see the whole thing. The Water tribe generally had wide bright blue eyes with long dark lashes, but Sakari had narrow almond shape eyes in the deepest gold color Katara had ever seen.

The second difference she noticed was the skin. Her dark tanned skin, contrasting greatly with his, which was pale and creamy. Her eyes drifted down to his nose which was narrow and long. Where she was from, most people had wide flat noses that she had become accustomed to. She looked at his mouth and found it too to be narrower than her own. His black hair hung over his high brow in a disheveled way that reminded Katara of Sokka's hair after he first woke up. She noticed his high cheekbones and arched eyebrows.

In her mind, he looked like a prince. Albeit a young, gangly prince who had started to blush under Katara's intense gaze.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked as she looked into his eyes again.

"You're so different." She said. He looked at her confused. Katara gave a huff of annoyance. "I mean your face and stuff. Do all Fire Nation people look so weird?"

He gave a small laugh. "In the Fire Nation, you're the one who looks weird."

Katara cocked her head to the side. "Are there a lot of differences in the Fire Nation and Water Tribes?" she asked.

"Well for one, it doesn't snow as much in the Fire Nation." He said. "Some winters it doesn't even snow at all."

Katara gasped. "What do you play in if there's no snow?"

"We just play in the grass." Sakari laughed before suddenly stopping to look at her. "You do know what grass is, right."

Katara nodded. "It's that green stuff that grows during the summer solstice. We don't have it a lot." She tapped her finger to her chin in thought. "How do you make a snowman out of grass? I don't think it would stick together very well."

Sakari gave another quick laugh. "We don't make grassmen and we don't have grassball fights either. We just play." He leaned back on his hands and sighed. "My home was at the foot of a large mountain deep in the Fire Nation. Sometimes I would climb as far as I could go and just sit on the mountain and watch the grass wave and the clouds roll by, not even playing at all. I would bring my sister once she was old enough to go just like my older brother took me up the mountain."

"You have a brother too? Is he a soldier too?" Katara asked.

Sakari winced. "He was. My father died when I was ten, my brother was thirteen. He supported us from them on. My mother being too weak and sick to care for us." He said. "Once he reached the age sixteen, he joined the army. I got a letter right after I turned sixteen that my brother was missing. I joined the army next so I could support my family."

"When we get to the Fire Nation, I'll help you find your brother." Katara said with confidence.

Sakari gave her a small smile as she looked up at him and flashed a toothy grin. "I don't think you'll be able to do that." He said. "They'll probably take you to the Fire Lord because you're a water bender."

Katara frowned. "Is there water in the Fire Nation, or do you drink fire?" She asked suddenly.

Sakari blinked at her as he processed her question before chuckles arose within him that turned into full-bellied laughs. Katara watched him with a small smile, not knowing what he was laughing about, as he wiped his eye.

He sighed as he stopped laughing. "What makes you think we would drink fire?" he asked. "Does it look drinkable to you?"

Katara looked down at her lap, blushing. "I wouldn't drink it. How do I know you Fire Nation don't just drink fire or eat Lava or something?"

"I guess you're right." Stated Sakari. He looked at her for a moment before continuing. "Do you know very much water bending?"

Katara looked up suddenly at his question before shaking her head. "There weren't any benders to teach me."

Sakari furrowed his brow. "Do you even know how to bend?"

Katara huffed indignantly at him before slowly smiling. "Do you have any water I could use?"

Sakari grinned as he pulled a small canteen out of his waistband. "Will this do?"

Katara grabbed the canteen out of his hand and poured a small amount into the cup she was given to eat with.

Sakari watched her as she closed her eyes and began to move her hands in a back and forth motion. His eyes watched the water as it stood, not still because of the constant motion of the boat, but not moving in the same rhythm as Katara's hands.

Then it was. Sakari's eyes widened as he watched the water start to slowly wave back and forth in time with Katara's slowly moving hands. It continued to rock back and forth until it was lapping over the sides of the cup, before Katara stilled her hands and opened her eyes.

As the water returned to rock along with the ship, Sakari turned to lock eyes with Katara. "That was amazing." He said. "And you learned that all by yourself?"

Katara blushed and looked to the floor as she nodded.

Both jumped when a loud banging on the door interrupted the silence before the door was wrenched open and the man who had originally taken her stepped in.

Sakari jumped up and hurriedly put his helmet back on before bowing to the tall man. "General."

"Come." Was all the man said before striding out the door with one last sneer at Katara.

Sakari glanced quickly back at Katara. "See you later 'Tara" he said before the door clanged shut.

Katara could hear Sakari and the General talking outside of the door, but could only hear snippets of their conversation.

"...she is Water Tribe..." came the gruff voice of the general

"...just...girl...barely...bend...," came Sakari's reply.

"...don't make...assign different..."

"No...won't let...bend..."

Sakari stepped back into the room before sighing. "The General said no more bending or he'll assign me to a different post." Sakari sighed again. "I'll go try to find you something to sleep on."

As the door clanged shut again, instead of curling up in a ball like last time, Katara's eye caught hold of the small cup in the floor with water still in it.

She knelt down beside it and closed her eyes before moving her hands back and forth slowly.


	3. The Storm

I do not own any part of the characters of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I got the story idea from Another brother by AvacadoLove.

Far Away

**Chapter 3: The storm**

Katara could keep track of the days fairly well for someone who couldn't see the sun or the sky. She didn't need to see outside to know when the sun would set, though. She could feel it. She didn't know why, but she would always feel stronger when the moon was high up in the sky. Especially full moons.

When she had explained it to her mother, she had gotten a strange look before telling her that she was imagining things. Katara knew that she wasn't crazy though. She knew that it had been exactly seventeen days since she had been taken. She even asked Sakari to be sure her counting was correct.

Even though she had been away from her family for so long she still cried herself to sleep. Every night she had dreams of fire. Not a warm fire to laugh and eat and visit around, but burning fire. Sometimes she didn't even remember what the dream was about, just a vague sense of fire. Katara woke up each night with a sob in her throat before curling up and crying for her mother and father or her grandmother, even Sokka.

When she woke up, she would eventually cry herself back to sleep with thoughts of home. Sakari found her like this every morning as he brought her breakfast, curled up in a ball with dry tear marks on her face.

The first time he found her like this, he gently shook her shoulder to wake her. She slowly blinked her eyes open before quickly scurrying back before she realized who it was that woke her. This continued every morning as he brought in Katara's food.

As she ate he would tell her stories of the Fire Nation, whether it be just facts or stories of his growing up. It became a pattern. The only time Sakari didn't have another job to do was when he was instructed to give Katara her food.

Every night before he left after supper, he would pour a bit of water in the small cup with a finger over his lips before slipping out the door. Katara practiced her waterbending to keep busy when Sakari wasn't there, careful to keep it hidden behind a box when she heard the General's loud footsteps clanging towards the room as he did one of his periodical checkups on her.

Nothing eventful happened. The pattern continued and never changed. Everything was done at a certain time every day aboard the ship without much differentiation.

The ship was ported once. Katara didn't know why or where they were because she was commanded to stay in her little room by the General. They still treated her like she might go crazy and waterbend everyone to death so they gave her nothing that she could damage irreparably or had liquid in it, except for what little drinking water she received with her meals and the water Sakari gave her from his canteen.

She just sat in her little room with nothing to do when all her water had spilled and she failed to bend it back into the cup. Nothing to do, but think about home. She tried as hard as she could not to think about what was gone but there was hardly anything to keep her mind from it.

That is until she was sitting on the floor with her eyes closed and she realized that she could feel it. At first she thought it was her imagination and then she realized that it was the ocean.

The slow swaying of the ship was what began to comfort Katara the most other than Sakari. She could feel the water under the ship shifting and moving, crashing and waving. She sometimes and pretended it was her moving the ocean as she moved her arms with the slow movements of the water, but she knew she'd never be that good of a bender.

One day though, as Katara was feeling the sea, it suddenly became more violent. She felt the waves crash harsh against the ship again and again. As the churning sea became more and more volatile.

She brushed it off at first until she stopped feeling the ocean and started paying attention to the other sounds around her.

She heard the rain on the deck above her and the howling of the wind. She vaguely remembered the storm that had ravaged her village once. She remembered being huddled in the tent with her family, her mother nervously telling a story of how the storm was only happening because the sky and sea spirits were fighting over the moon.

Katara didn't become afraid of the crashing waves and the howling wind, until she heard quickly pounding feet on the hall leading to her little room and watched the door sling open. A panting, dripping wet Sakari bounded in with no helmet and a wild look in his gold eyes.

Katara looked up at Sakari with a silent question in her eyes.

He took a deep breath. "This storm is really bad." He shook his head and a few droplets slipped from his hair onto Katara. "I just wanted to check on you before I'm needed back on deck."

"I'll be fine." Insisted Katara, but worry was gnawing at her stomach. She felt like something bad was going to happen.

"Just don't go outside." Sakari turned to the door as he heard a fist pounding on it. "Stay safe." He said before turning and rushing out the door.

"You too." Katara whispered as the heavy door closed behind him. Katara dropped to the floor and curled into a ball with her hands around her legs and her head on her knees. She didn't cry, she just sat there unmoving as the ship swayed beneath her.

Many times the wind would start dying down and the rain would be less violent, but Katara's hopes that the storm was over was crushed each time as the wind and rain came back more powerful.

Katara sat curled up for what seemed like forever as the storm raged outside. With her head in her hands, she couldn't see one of the many boxes in the room start swaying as it came loose from its bounds.

She looked up and before she even had time to scream, the box came tumbling down on her and the world went black.


	4. Who am I?

I do not own any part of the characters of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I got the story idea from Another brother by AvacadoLove.

Far Away

**Chapter 4: Who am I?**

When Sakari finally was able to make it back to the storage room, he was surprised to see a box thrown from its ties. His heart gave a flutter of fear when he noticed that Katara was nowhere to be seen.

He watched as a deep red liquid leisurely made its way out from under the large wooden crate. It took a few moments before it registered what that strange crimson liquid was; blood.

He threw the box aside and stared down at the still form of Katara, who had a gash running across her forehead, before quickly scooping her into his arms and rushing out the door and down the many hallways to the ship doctor.

He knocked on the door with his foot and shifted impatiently from foot to foot before repeating. He waited a few more moments before he heard swift footsteps on the cold metal floor behind him.

He watched as the rotund doctor rounded the corner before stopping in shock. His eyes traveled to Katara's limp form before rushing towards the door with a speed that belied his size.

Once inside the large room, the doctor gave Sakari a questioning look.

"I think a box fell on her during the storm." He said.

The doctor gave a nod before motioning Sakari to lay Katara on a small table in the center of the room. "Go get the general." The man said. "He will want to know what is happening."

Sakari turned to exit the room before giving one last glance in Katara's direction.

**(¯`'•.¸* ~6 Days Later~ *¸. •'´¯)**

Katara hadn't woken up since the storm. Sakari was beginning to worry, but he doctor said she would regain consciousness in time, so Sakari waited and went about his normal duties.

The general was furious at him. He said it was entirely his fault and that he'd be the one who would bear the blame if something happened to their little 'prize'. Sakari knew that the general was just scared that Katara wouldn't regain consciousness before they docked in the Fire Nation in mere hours.

When Sakari was off duty, he would usually visit the small room the doctor reserved for patients and watch for any signs that Katara would wake up. Today was no exception as he made his way to the doctor's room.

As he hurried through the hall, Sakari began to wonder when he had gotten so attached to the small waterbender. He supposed that she just reminded him of his sister, but whatever had caused him to become so attatched, Sakari almost wished that he had never met the young waterbender. He knew that he would have to part ways with her when they docked and he regretted that he would have to say goodbye.

Sakari was abrubtly broken from his thoughts as he narrowly avoided being run over by the ship's doctor who had suddenly came rounding the corner. The doctor skid to a halt as he saw Sakari and turned to him red-faced and panting.

"The young...watertribe...girl is...awake!" he said in between wheezing gasps. "I'm off...to see...the captain to tell...him!" the doctor then turned around and started running around the next curve.

Sakari heard a crash from where the doctor had turned, but he had already started back to Katara's room with a wide grin across his face. _'Finally!'_ he thought _'She's awake!' _

As he made it to the door, he slowly opened it and walked up to Katara's bed. He placed his hand gently on her hand and Katara jolted and pulled her hand away and cradled it to her chest. Sakari met her eyes and was shocked to find her eyes filled with pure, unadulterated terror. As she started to tremble and whimper, Sakari knew something was wrong.

"Where am I?" the trembling girl asked in a whisper.

Sakari's brow furrowed. "You are in the doctor's room. You hit your head, don't you remember?"

Sakari watched her try to focus on her thoughts. "I-I don't remember. I can't remember!" she started to get hysterical. "Where am I? What's going on? Who are you?" she started to hyperventlate. "Who am I? I can't remember! Please tell me who I am!"

Sakari watched the frightened girl with wide eyes. "You don't remember?" he asked her. "My name is Sakari and you are on a Fire Nation ship. You are Katara from the-"

He was interrupted as the doctor followed by the captain, rushed into the room.

"How is she?" asked the captain.

"She is physically fine, other than a little bruising, but head injuries can be a touch tricky." said the doctor as he rushed to Katara's side. "How are you feeling, child?" he asked.

"My head hurts alot and I don't remember." Katara said as her lip started to tremble and she broke into sobs.

The doctor looked at her confused before turning away from the crying girl. "What does she mean by that? She can't remember what?" the doctor asked Sakari.

Sakari sighed. "When I got here she asked me a couple questions and she started to get hysterical, shouting that she couldn't remember who she was or where she was. I don't know what happened."

The doctor started wringing his hands. "Ohhh this is not good, not good at all. What are we to tell the Fire Lord? He will be furious that she has lost her memory and will have us executed for sure. Ohh This is not good."

From the edge of the room a sly grin made its way onto the captain's face. "I think we may actually be able to use this to our advantage." he said.

The doctor and Sakari looked at him in confusion as he started to chuckle. "Yes, if she has no memory, then she has no reason to be against the Fire Nation. Having a waterbender in our ranks could prove to be invaluable."

Sakari's eyes widened at the realization of what the captain was implying. "You don't mean-"

"Oh yes I do mean." The captain interrupted. "The Fire Lord will be very pleased."

Sakari opened his mouth to say something more, when the captain interrupted him again. "Off with you if you cannot stay quiet while I talk with her and 'refresh' her memory."

Sakari turned to leave and he slammed the door shut before he could her the captain start speaking with her. He stormed down the halls and into his quarters. He sat on his small cot and placed his head in his hands as he thought about what Katara had said, _'Who am I? I can't remember! Please tell me who I am!'_


	5. The FireLord

I do not own any part of the characters from Avatar:The Last Airbender. I got the story idea from Another Brother by AvacadoLove.

Far Away

**Chapter 5: The Firelord**

Katara. That was what the man said her name was but that was all he told her about herself. He said she was going to meet a very important man who would tell her all she needed to know about herself.

She could not shake the feeling of utter wrongness that she felt in the great rocking ship. This wasn't home, she knew that; but then what was her home?

"Katara." A voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked up to see a soldier, she recognized him as the young soldier who was in her room as she woke up. "I'm here to escort you to the palace." He said as he put his helmet on. He paused as he glanced at her and in that glance, Katara met his eyes and what she saw baffled her. He looked scared and sad and worried all at the same time, but before Katara could look deeper into his eyes, he turned his eyes away with his head bowed slightly and silently led her to the deck of the ship.

When they reached the deck, she closed her eyes against the brightness of the sun. Once Katara's eyes adjusted to the brightness, she stopped moving and let out an involuntary gasp. The young soldier turned to face her with his eyes lit up with confusion. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

Katara slowly shook her head as she stared wide-eyed around he. In the early morning that it was, the rising sun cast a red hue on the world, but the world it lit up was as strange to Katara as the ship she had woke up in. Her mind screamed 'WRONG!' as she looked at the strange land. She couldn't remember much, but she remembered the world being white with tiny little tents. This world was a mish-mash of red and green. The ground, instead of its pristine white, was a strange green and seemed to move like the sea in the wind. The buildings were made of a strange material that she had no memory of with red banners all around and all the people dressed in red with several of the military helmets sticking out from the large crowds of people.

Katara didn't have time to ponder over the strange world she had found herself in before the captain stepped forward and started talking to the soldier leading her.

"Follow me and carry her until we get to the palace, we don't want her to get lost."

The soldier gave a nod and Katara was lifted on to his back.

"Hold on tight, I don't want you to fall." He said and Katara securely wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his neck. She felt the soldier give another nod and then they were off.

They quickly made their way through the crowds and before long they had stopped their quick pace and she lifted her head from the soldier's neck when he gasped. What she saw left her amazed too. Before her stood two large, ornately carved doors, which, as she gaped, swung open to reveal the strange design inside the palace. She saw the captain speaking to a guard next to the door.

"I request a presence with the Firelord. It is very urgent." He spoke. Even with the obvious effort to keep his voice level and monotone, a touch of giddiness seeped through.

The guard nodded and turned into the palace, motioning for them to follow and he lad them through hallways decorated with red and gold. On the walls were images of fire and people wielding it. Katara got lost in the heat around her and the images of fire and the colors all started to blur together and she felt her head become dizzy.

Right as Katara started to feel nauseous, the guard leading them motioned for them to stop before continuing on and disappearing around a corner.

The young soldier let her down onto the ground and she clutched on to his hand. She may not know him very well, but he is still more familiar than the strange palace walls.

They stood for well over an hour before the guard came back through the hallways toward them. "The Firelord will see you now." He said and he turned again back down the hallway.

Katara felt the young soldier clutch tightly to her hand as they followed the guard through the twists and turns of the strange palace halls before they stopped and large doors opened.

She heard a deep gasping voice bark out, "Enter." Before they entered into the room. A sudden terror hit Katara when she saw the flames licking up the room from the floor to the ceiling and a panicked scream made its way from her throat. Almost as soon as the scream left her mouth the large hand of the young soldier clamp over her mouth. He crouched down next to her and whispered into her ear, "It's fine. This fire wont hurt you."

Katara nodded and tried to calm her beating heart. The clearing of a throat had the young soldier shooting up back into his rigid stance.

"I trust your mission was a success." Stated the gasping voice from earlier. Katara looked around to find the one who had spoken, but she couldn't find the owner of the voice.

"It _was _a success in a way, but there was a slight change in plans." The captain spoke, directing his voice towards the wall of flame. It was then that Katara noticed the silhouette of a man seated on the other side of the flames.

The silhouette spoke again, "I did not ask for your excuses, I asked if you killed the last southern waterbender!"

Katara thought she heard the captain gulp. "No, I did not. But I have-"

"Imbecil! I give you one simple task and you fail. I should have chosen one more competent than you." The silhouette broke off and started a violent coughing fit. It took a few minutes of silence other than the hacking coughs and the cracking flames before the man continued. "Explain."

"It might be best if she leave before I continue." The captain said, pointing to her.

Katara watched the silhouette turn towards her. "Very well." It said.

The young soldier nodded and started to lead Katara to the doors. "You stay, soldier." Said the captain. "I might need your input. Girl, I want you to stand outside the doors and not move." Katara continued out the doors and sat on the floor staring at the tapestry of a man throwing fire into the air.

**(¯`'•.¸* ~Behind the Doors~ *¸. •'´¯)**

Sakari felt fear jolt through him as he was commanded to stay, but he chided himself for it. _'Katara will be fine' _He thought.

As soon as the door closed behind Katara the Firelord spoke. "I will say it only once more, explain."

Sakari glanced at the captain as the captain looked at the Firelord and spoke. He spoke of their journey to the South Pole and the fighting and of finding a young woman who admitted to being the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe.

"Why didn't you kill her then and there?" asked the Firelord. "You probably were too weak to kill the woman. I should have found a general better suited for killing than someone as weak as you."

"I didn't kill her because she wasn't the waterbender, the young girl outside is." Said the captain. Sakari couldn't help but hear the slight frustration in the captain's voice. "I was lifting my hand to kill her when the child used waterbending to stop me."

Sakari heard the Firelord gasp. "That small girl is powerful enough that even with no training she was able to stop you?"

The captain lowered his eyes to the floor. "Admittedly, I stopped out of shock because I believed the woman was waterbending without having to move." The captain looked back up and continued. "I quickly recovered and realized the girl was the waterbender and the woman had lied to protect her. Of course I killed the woman for lying to me and turned to kill the girl, but it is dishonorable to kill children so young when they cannot fight back."

"I know about honor!" barked the Firelord. "But is it not also dishonorable to disobey a direct order from your Firelord?"

The captain seemed flustered at the statement. "I thought you could use her. Turn her to our side of the war or make her a trophy. Something that would unnerve the water tribes."

"One thing I know about water tribe people is their gross attachment to loyalty. What made you think I could turn her to our side? Why, also, did you think I would make her a trophy? She will learn waterbending and she will declare her freedom, I would not be able to keep her captive for long."

At this Sakari watched the captain grin. "I was pondering over these things myself when a stroke of luck hit the ship. Explain what happened soldier." The captain said.

It took Sakari a moment to realize the captain was taking to him.

"I-uhm w-we put Ka-the girl in the storage chamber and during the storm, a box was knocked loose and struck the girl on the head." Sakari said as he slowly gained composure. "She woke up without a memory."

The captain took over talking again, "I told her nothing other than her name, Katara. So you could tell her whatever you want and she would believe it."

Sakari watched the silhouette of the Firelord nod. "Bring her here."

Sakari started to the door with his heart beating wildly in his chest and his palms sweating. The doors swung open and Katara quickly stood and rushed to his side and clutched at his hand. Sakari felt his heart swell as he felt her shiver as she saw the flames again.

"Bring her closer." He heard the Firelord croak. When Katara stood directly in front of him, he spoke again. "Where are you from?" he asked.

Katara opened her mouth to speak but the Firelord continued. "Where do your loyalties lie? Are you the absolute last waterbender? Who is your family?"

Katara stared down at the ground and furrowed her brow. "I-I don't know." She answered truthfully. You could almost hear the Firelord's smirk.

"She is of no harm. Give her to princess Azula as a maid."

Sakari and Katara both looked up as they heard a muffled "What?! I don't need a bratty little maid!" But neither could find the source of the indignant voice.

The Firelord spoke again before anyone could move. "Out, all of you. Leave the girl with one of the guards to take to the servant's quarters."

They turned to leave and Sakari felt his heart tug painfully when he realized this was the last he was ever going to see of Katara.


End file.
